


Untitled Excerpt

by gg13245



Series: Lilly's Pokémon Saga: Kanto [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-02-10 07:19:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18655624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gg13245/pseuds/gg13245
Summary: Lilly, a young Pokémon trainer with a big secret, has been asked by her friend Ash Ketchum to rescue a severely injured Mewtwo from Cerulean Cave before he is recaptured by Team Rocket. Can she convince him to leave the cave before it's too late?





	1. Chapter 1

“Woah there, not so fast kiddo.”  
I had just hopped off of Gyarados’ back and onto the small, rocky beach outside of Cerulean Cave, surprised to see that somebody was waiting there at this hour. I sighed impatiently; we were already running a little behind schedule as I notice the sun quickly beginning to sink lower behind the hills ahead of us.  
“Just who are you? Some kind of gatekeeper?”  
“That’s right. If you wanna enter this cave, you’re gonna have to battle me first!”  
I dug in my bag for a moment and pulled out my badge book, opening it so that he could see that I had all eight badges and an amulet from the Elite Four.  
“Mister, we’re in a bit of a hurry. I already beat the Elite Four! See?”  
“Sorry, the police put me here to keep weaker trainers out. There are some pretty strong Pokémon past this point, I’d hate to see anybody get hurt, especially a little—”  
“But I just showed you my badges, I’m not a weak trainer!” I protested, holding them closer to his face.  
“Oh yeah? How do I know that you didn’t borrow those?”  
“My name’s on here,” I huffed, refraining rolling my eyes.  
He tossed a Pokéball in the air and caught it again, smirking condescendingly.  
“Come on, battle me!” he taunted.  
Gyarados rose higher out of the water behind me, leering at the ace trainer in annoyance.  
I cleared my throat and said, “As much as I would love to put you in your place right now, my Gyarados here is also itching to get inside this cave. She gets very scary if she doesn’t get what she wants.”  
He looked up at her and grimaced slightly. Gyarados growled and slapped the water with her tail in response.  
“Fine, go ahead,” he muttered, reluctantly stepping aside.  
I held out her Pokéball and she returned as I shouted a quick “thanks!” and ran ahead inside.  
“Be careful in there, girl!” he called after me.

 

After only taking a few steps inside, I could tell that the cave was more foreboding than every other cave I had explored previously. I was already straining my eyes to see what was in front of me. I withdrew Ampharos from her Pokéball and she lit up the cave before I even had time to ask, but even then her light did not reach more than a few meters away.  
“It seems as though this cave is heavily protected,” Ampharos murmured, stunned.  
“I’ve never met a Pokemon that could make caves darker like that,” I agreed, letting out all my other Pokémon.  
Ninetails, Arbok, Gyarados and Togekiss looked around, though there was not much to see other than rocks and some pools of water.  
“We’re inside the cave,” I began, addressing them, “but I have no idea where he is. You guys can see better than I can, so keep an eye out for anything suspicious that might lead us to him.”  
We kept close to Ampharos as we walked, nervous about what other surprises might be waiting for us ahead. I could hear some Pokemon scurry out of view when they sensed the light approaching.  
Eventually, we came across a body of water; an underground lake.  
“Gyarados—”  
“Way ahead of you,” she replied, already getting into the water.  
“No, I was going to have Amphy—”  
“Alright then Amphy, get up here, we need you up front,” she barked back.  
“Okay!”  
“Hey!” I shouted, trying to get their attention.  
Amphy was in the middle of clambering up Gyarados when they both looked back at me.  
“You both need to wait for instructions. I’m the trainer!”  
“We already knew—”  
I shook my head, “I don’t care! What if something happens because you weren’t waiting for me to give a command? I know you’re both smart and strong Pokémon, but with a situation as dangerous as this we need to have a chain of command. Okay?”  
Ampharos enthusiastically shouted, “Okay!”  
Gyarados was silent for a moment, then she turned around and said, “Okay.”  
“Ampharos, you can get on Gyarados. Arbok, you and I will follow behind. Togekiss . . .”  
I looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. There were plenty of sharp rocks jutting down, but I trusted Togekiss to be able to dodge them.  
“Fly close to the water in the back. Okay?”  
Togekiss nodded.  
Arbok slithered into the water behind Gyarados and flattened her head so I could climb onto her.  
We were moving through the water for quite some time. We often crossed paths with Golbats, and I had to yell instructions to Ampharos from Arbok’s back as she fought them off.  
“Ampharos, any land in sight?” I called after she electrocuted yet another Golbat.  
“Yes! Just up ahead!” she shouted back toward me.  
“Let’s head towards it, we’ll regroup there!”  
Once we got to shore, everybody got out of the water except for Gyarados.  
“It looks like there’s another path leading this way,” I said, indicating the stones that seemed to outline a small path through the cave.  
“Let’sssss follow it and sssssee where it goessss.”  
Suddenly I heard a little squeal to my right. I looked in that direction and saw half a Slowpoke’s head protruding from behind a boulder. When he realized that I knew he was there, he was brave enough to come out a little further, but his wide eyes showed that he was completely afraid of us.  
Hey, I thought suddenly, maybe he could take us to Mewtwo.  
“Excuse me! Is there a powerful Pokemon hiding in this cave?” I asked, squatting to talk to him.  
Slowpoke came out all the way. I felt my eyes widen in surprise when I saw that the meter-long tail most Slowpoke usually had on their backsides was missing.  
“Waddya want with Mewtwo?”  
I was startled by how direct he was.  
“Well . . . I came to take him back with me before Team Rocket does. They know where he’s hiding now, so I’ve been sent to take him away from here whether he wants to leave or not.”  
“Hmm . . .”  
The Pokemon seemed to expect my team and me individually as if deciding whether or not I was telling the truth.  
“He will try to kill you, but . . . you seem like strong Pokemon,” he said, to my surprise.  
“You won’t go down easily.”  
“We’re not afraid,” I said, hearing Gyarados slap her tail against the cavern wall at those words, “we understand what we’re in for.”  
The Slowpoke did not respond, instead continuing to inspect my team.  
“Uhm . . . do you know where we can find him? This cave is pretty big, and—”  
“I know where Mewtwo is, every Pokemon here does. I’ll help lead you to him, but I sure won’t face him with you!”  
“I understand,” I say kindly.  
“If it helps Mewtwo, I sure will,” said the Slowpoke in his humble voice. “He’s not a bad Pokemon, y’know? Just scared is all . . .”  
His eyes widened suddenly, “Oh don’t tell him I said that!”  
I couldn’t help but smile.  
He promptly turned around and motioned us to follow with a nod of his head and a flick of his stump. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they continue through the cave, Lilly reflects on the conversation Ash had with her about capturing Mewtwo. Eventually, a dead end is reached without a single sighting of Mewtwo. Time to give up and go home? Perhaps not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that the first chapter was rather long, so I added some content and split it into two chapters!

Chapter 2

As we walked, I thought about the conversation I had with Ash the previous day about this mission; we only had 24 hours to prepare for it.  
“Lilly, are you really sure about this?”  
“Of course I am!” I had said, “A Pokémon that needs to be rescued from Team Rocket? Why would I say no to that?”  
“But, this isn’t just any Pokémon—”  
“Oh, relax! I’ve dealt with some pretty Legendary Pokémon back in Hoenn, trust me!”  
“Lilly, stop brushing me off, I already know all that!” he had said angrily.  
“Fine, what do you want to say?”  
“I’m trying to tell you that Mewtwo is going to be different from any Pokémon you’ve ever faced. He’s dying, he’ll probably do whatever it takes to get you away from him.”  
“So? How is that different from—”  
“I’m saying that he will definitely try to kill you. He won’t see you as someone who is trying to help him. You understand?”  
He took me by the shoulders and brought his face very close to mine.  
“I know you’re a good trainer, and I know you have captured Legendary Pokémon before. But the only reason I’m asking you to do this is because of your . . . you know . . .”  
I had shrugged out of his grasp and put my hands on my hips.   
“Are you saying my team isn’t good enough to take him?”  
“Yeah, I guess so.”  
“I ought to make you eat your words!” I had objected.  
“I’m just worried. I care about Mewtwo and I want him to be safe, but risking your life isn’t worth it to me,” he said nervously.  
“Ash I promise, it’ll be okay!” I had insisted.  
“You’re absolutely sure that you can get—”  
“Yes, I told you, he always comes out when I’m in danger. If for some reason my Pokémon are all knocked out, which I doubt will happen, I know that he’ll be able to defeat Mewtwo for sure.”  
“I just hope you’re right.”

We followed the Slowpoke for what felt like hours. Pokemon watched us pass by, but most did not approach us; the ones that did Gyarados was able to scare off by simply baring her teeth.  
As I watched the Slowpoke walk, looking at its stumpy tail fanned the flames of my curiosity to the point where I simply had to ask how he lost it.  
“Slowpoke, what happened to your tail?” I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as possible.   
“Team Rocket,” he growled to himself, kicking a rock as we walked.  
“They came here?” Togkiss asked.  
“Yes, many years ago. I was one of the few they managed to catch . . . I was a little one, see.”  
“You mean they couldn’t catch all of you?”  
“Most of the Slowpokes here were strong enough to fight them off . . . they are no longer Slowpokes, if you know what I mean.”  
I thought for a second, then said, “Oh, right . . . that means you can’t evolve.”  
“A Shellder can’t latch onto my tail, so I’ll never be able to become a Slowbro.”  
“I wish there was something I can do,” I said sympathetically.  
“I’m afraid there’s nothing,” he sighed sadly, “I shall be a tailless Slowpoke for the rest of my days.”  
“Where are we, by the way?” I asked, suddenly realizing that it had become even darker.  
“Nearly there . . . yup, here we are.”   
“Huh?”  
I could feel that there was something powerful ahead, but . . .  
We were at a dead end.  
“There’s . . . just a wall here,” I laughed nervously.  
“This used to be an entrance to another part of the cave, but he sealed himself off in it.”  
I sighed, then muttered, “I was hoping we could get to him more quietly than blasting through a rock wall.”  
As I said those words, I could already see Arbok readying her tail.  
“No, Arbok, we need to try to be quieter,” I said quickly.  
“Why? He musssssst already know that we’re here,” she said.  
“I . . . yeah, you’ve got a point.”  
“Only Mewtwo can open it with his power,” the Slowpoke chirped suddenly.  
I turned to look at him and asked, “Have you seen him do it?”  
“Yup, he just presses his hand to the wall—”  
“Like this?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Okay . . .”  
I waited for a moment, but nothing happened.  
“Arceus,” I whispered, “help me open up this door.”  
Still nothing.  
I sighed again, lowering my hand from the wall.  
“Wait, what were you trying to do?” the Slowpoke asked, bewildered.  
I ignored the question, feeling frustrated.  
“Go ahead, Arbok.” I said without looking at her, gesturing toward the wall.  
She looked at me with surprise. “If he said only Mewtwo can open it, what makesssss you think I can?!” she hissed indignantly.  
“Lilly, is Arceus going to respond if we need help after we enter his lair?” Togekiss asked, concerned.  
“I don’t know!” I shouted, frustrated, “I thought he would understand that I need him for this, but . . .”  
“It’s alright,” Ninetails said suddenly.  
I looked at her, trying to keep the tears of frustration in my eyes.  
“We can do this, with or without Arceus. We’ve never needed him to help us catch a Pokemon before, right?” she continued, addressing all of us this time.  
They nodded in agreement.  
“E-everybody . . .”  
I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and looked at the wall again.  
“Arbok and Gyarados, you guys are up.”  
“We have to do this swiftly, or else we’ll have more problems than just Mewtwo,” Gyarados said, looking up at the ceiling of the cave.  
She was right; I hadn’t thought about the cave itself coming down.  
“Okay, then we’ll try three times,” I agreed.  
Arbok and Gyarados positioned themselves next to the wall, their tails pulled back at the ready.  
“One . . . two . . . three!”  
On three, they let out a cry and swung their tails at the wall. The sound it created bounced off the walls and kicked up a cloud of dust, but once it settled we could see that it had no effect on the wall.  
“Again,” I said, but when I looked they already had their tails in the position.  
“One, two, three!”  
They swung again. The ground shook from the resulting vibration; I had to hold on to Ninetails to steady myself.  
The wall still stood, unbreaking.  
“Maybe we should—”  
“No! One more time, I’ve got it this time,” Gyarados insisted, her tail already pulled back.  
“Gyaradossss, the whole cave could—” Arbok warned.  
“She said three times, didn’t she?” Gyarados growled at her.  
“You can do it then, I’m not gonna be resssponsssible for bringing thissss cave down on top of usssss,” Arbok said nonchalantly.  
“Fine,” Gyarados replied.  
She looked back at me and said, “On your command, trainer.”  
I hesitated, not sure if this was worth the risk. But the way Gyarados was looking at me told me she was not going to back down from the challenge.  
“I-I think it will take a lot more than Gyarados to make the ceiling fall down,” Slowpoke said hesitantly.  
“Alright,” I said, looking back at Gyarados.  
“One . . .”  
She raised her tail even higher.  
“Two . . .”  
She bared her teeth at the cave wall as if it was a Pokémon she was battling.  
“Three!”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gyarados let out a fearsome cry before she threw tail with all her might at the cave wall.  
Before I could process what had happened, Ninetails was pushing me out of the way as Gyarados’ long body toppled over and nearly crushed the both of us.  
I laid there for a moment, coughing from the dust her massive body kicked up when she fell.  
“Gyarados? Are you okay?!” I shouted, trying to see where she fell.  
“That bastard . . .” I heard her growl as she began to pull herself upright.  
“What happened?” Ampharos asked as she came to my side to help me off the ground.  
Gyarados was up again, studying the completely in-tact cave wall in front of her.  
“Trainer,” she barked suddenly.  
“Y-yes?” I jumped.  
“Go try to touch the wall again.”  
I looked at her like she had sprouted another head and asked, “What?”   
“Go touch it.”  
I obliged and walked toward the cave wall with one hand outstretched.  
Instead of feeling solid rock underneath my palm, I gasped in shock and nearly fell inside when my hand disappeared into the wall.  
“Isssss it . . . open?” Arbok asked uncertainly, tilting her head to one side.  
“I think so?” I murmured, swinging my hand behind the cave wall.  
Togekiss flew by my head and stuck one of his wings inside the wall.  
“By the looks of it, he opened an entrance when Gyarados was about to swing again,” he concluded, landing by my side.  
“I knew it, that jerk!” Gyarados snarled, slapping her tail against the ground in fury.  
“Huh?! It’s open?” Slowpoke asked.  
“It sure seems like it,” I replied, not daring to take my hand out of the wall in case he closed it again.  
I turned around to look at my team as I said, “Let’s hurry in. Remember he’s very injured, so we will try to talk it out first. Fighting him is our last resort , , ,”  
I looked directly at Gyarados when I asked, “Got it?”  
My team grunted in agreement, and one by one they passed through the wall.   
“I sure hope you all come back out in one piece,” the Slowpoke murmured as Ampharos walked through.  
“We have to,” I said confidently, “there’s no other option.”  
I saw Slowpoke nod in agreement before facing forward, squaring my shoulders, and following my Pokémon into the wall.

When I entered the room on the other side, it was as though I had become completely blind. I stumbled into something that felt like Arbok’s scaly skin and held onto her tightly, terrified by the unnatural darkness surrounding us.   
“Everybody stay close!” Gyarados growled nearby.  
I jumped at what sounded like a large boulder falling somewhere nearby.  
“A-Ampharos, give us some light please,” I said nervously after another especially loud boom.   
I knew she must have heard me, but nothing changed.  
“Ampharos, use Flash!” I said again.  
This time I heard her cry out in response. The sound of electricity crackling was deafening, yet I could not see any of it.   
“Why won’t it light up?” I demanded, jumping at the sound of a third rock hitting the ground.  
When the crackling stopped, I turned around and finally saw Ampharos’ dimly glowing tail, but I could hardly see even that in the murky darkness.  
“I’m trying my best,” she said, out of breath, “but this place has lots of protection around it. My tail won’t get any brighter than this!”   
“You of all of us should be able to feel this protection, my dear Lilly,” Togkiss crooned.   
I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, noticing that Ampharos was right. I could practically feel the air tingle with psychic energy that surrounded us.  
“Mewtwo has to be somewhere around here then,” I affirmed, my words shaking slightly.  
“Who goes there?!” a deep, alarmed voice boomed throughout the cave.  
I stifled a gasp when I heard that voice and accidentally backed into Ninetails, who quickly began to growl. Arbok hissed loudly.  
Another person is here? We must be too late, I thought, my panic increasing dramatically.   
“Who’s there? Are you a Rocket?” I shouted back as Ampharos steadied me with her paws.  
There was no response from the voice.  
“How many more are here?!” I pressed.  
There was another moment of silence, then a deep laughter was faintly heard from further inside the cave  
“. . . No,” the voice replied at last, dramatically calmer than when it first spoke to me, “I am not a member of Team Rocket.”  
“Prove it!”  
A moment later, two blue lights appeared in the middle of the cave. They were close together enough that they could have been eyes, but they were certainly bigger than human eyes. Gyarados rumbled loudly in warning to whomever the speaker was.  
“You must be Lilly Prescott,” he continued, “friend of Ashton Ketchum and child Pokémon trainer.”  
The response he gave was unnerving; whoever was speaking to me clearly sounded amused when they sensed the fear in my voice.  
“Just . . . just how do you know who I am?!”  
I tried to sound intimidating, but my voice cracked.   
“Show yourself!” Ninetails demanded aggressively.  
“Ninetails, don’t be hostile!” Togekiss chirruped quietly to her.  
“I know who you are, and why you have come to this place,” the voice said.   
“You have no reason to be troubled . . . at the present.”  
Though he sounded sincere, I was not reassured. Togekiss alighted on the ground next to me; I heard him spread one of his wings and felt it rest on my shoulders protectively. Ninetails stealthily crept to my left side and crouched down, her muscles tensing.  
“Then, who are you?” I asked again.  
“I . . . am Mewtwo!” he said finally, his voice echoing much more impressively than Gyarados’s growl.  
My jaw dropped in shock.  
“Wait . . . y-you’re Mewtwo?”  
“Yes,” he said, the blue lights vanishing for a millisecond as he blinked, “are you surprised?”  
“No . . .”  
I was not expecting Mewtwo;s voice to sound like that at all. He sounded far too human; it was truly unlike any other Pokémon’s voice that I had encountered. It was also a voice that sounded much calmer than I anticipated him to be for a human trespassing into his cave.   
Then again, I remembered, he’s probably in a lot of pain.  
But instead of responding with those words I said, “You sounded exactly like a human, of course I would have been confused!”  
“How ignorant,” he said with contempt, “I can communicate in a language that Pokémon and man alike can comprehend. Do you not know about the Pokémon that can understand and speak human tongue?”  
“It’s not . . .”  
I cut myself off, trying not to snap back at his patronizing tone.  
Mewtwo chuckled bitterly before he continued, “Of course, I am not a true Pokémon. I am merely—”  
“A clone of Mew. Ash told me all about you," I interrupted eagerly.  
“Did he?”  
The eyes narrowed, “He must have failed to mention that I dislike being interrupted.”   
"Ah, s-sorry,” I said sheepishly, “but . . . he also told me that you really are a Pokémon in every other way.”  
“Ash is too naive to see that I am not a genuine Pokémon,” he said coldly.  
“A-ah . . .”  
“However,” his tone softened a little, “he has taught me that I am capable of being merciful. He is the reason I did not ambush you and your Pokémon earlier”  
Before I could express my gratitude, his voice darkened again, “But even so, I will not allow you to take me from this place.”  
Togekiss was the only one of my team who seemed disappointed with that statement. I tried to change the subject by asking, “Can you at least let Ampharos light the room up a bit?”  
“What, do you fear darkness?” he asked condescendingly.  
“N-no!” I said defensively, “I just want to be able to see what you look like.”  
“. . . Very well.”  
A few seconds later, the cave was illuminated by a light emanating from the ceiling of the cavern. Startled, I blinked a few times, then looked up and noticed a giant blue orb of energy attached to a rock high above us.  
“Satisfied?”   
“Yeah . . .” I said, looking toward where I heard Mewtwo’s voice.  
My breath caught in my throat when I saw him hovering in the middle of the cave. His eyes were slightly narrowed; he seemed to be staring at me with a mixture of irritation and faint curiosity. He cautiously glided closer to where we were standing, and I could see him more clearly.   
As he approached, I could see that Mewtwo was even shaped similarly to a human, and at least two feet taller than me, but there were a few key differences. He only had six fingers and toes, three on each limb. Behind his neck there was a cord that connected his head and back together; it started just above his neck and ended between his shoulder blades. He had brawny legs that immediately thinned after the thigh. His skin was a pale, delicate lilac color, and curved elegantly behind him was a tail darker than Arbok’s violet scales. He was staring me down with eyes that were the same color as his tail.  
I had not noticed the severity of his gashes and bruises until his gaze shifted to my other Pokémon. It was then that I realized that Ash was not kidding when he said told me he did not know if Mewtwo would survive the next twenty-four hours; his nastiest wound was down the left side of his torso, where the flesh was ragged and swollen. And although he was doing his best not to show it, even from where I was I could see him grimace in pain every few seconds as he kept as still as possible. Were he not covered in wounds and grime, I might have thought he was the most beautiful shade of purple I had ever seen.  
He’s been pretty badly hurt . . . maybe we won’t have to fight at all!  
Mewtwo looked back at me suddenly, his expression shifting from calm to slightly wary.  
“What . . . are you?” he asked in a cautious tone.  
Although it was the second time that day someone asked me that question, it still caught me off guard.  
“Huh?”  
“I sensed it from the moment you first walked into the cave, I assumed you had brought a strong Pokémon to challenge me. But . . . it was you all along. I see that now,” Mewtwo said coolly, then asked again, “What are you?”  
My eyes narrowed indignantly at that remark.  
“Why should I tell you?”   
“Because I wish to know.”   
He said this like I should have already known it; as if it were obvious.  
“Well I’m sorry to disappoint you,” I said stubbornly, “but I can’t say.”  
“And why not? Do you have something to hide?” he asked, sounding insulted.  
“Well . . . maybe I’ll tell you if you come with us! Want to shake on it?” I asked, holding out my hand.  
“That sounds tempting, but no.”  
He turned around and waved his hand toward the entrance we came in.  
“You may go now; my curiosity is satisfied. Have a safe trip home.”  
“Wait, Mewtwo, you don’t—"  
“I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. I do not need you to take me from here.”  
“Please, we just want to help you escape the Rockets,” I said earnestly.   
“Sssspeak for yourssself, he’ssss ssso rude!” Arbok hissed loudly.  
“You don’t mean that, Arbok!” I turned toward her to say.  
“You . . .”  
I looked toward Mewtwo again. He had turned back around, though his face still as stoic as it was when I first saw it.  
“You understood what that Pokémon said?”  
“Oh, no,” I said without missing a beat.  
“I . . . it just . . . it sounded like she said something mean.”  
His eyes narrowed at my lie, but I was determined to not give up the ruse quite yet.  
“Well, I can’t help it if you don’t want to leave this creepy cave,” I continued, trying to distract him from what had just happened, “but I promised Ash I’d get you to safety, and I’m not leaving without you!”  
“My most sincere apologies to Ashton, but I am staying here. Send my regards for me, will you?” he said with his voice slightly higher in an attempt to imitate me.  
“So, you’re just going to sit here like some Exeggcute and wait for Team Rocket to find you? You can’t risk another attack from them, your injuries are pretty bad already,” I said, an edge beginning to find its way into my voice.  
"Again, I do not need to be looked after. The Rockets do not have the ability to access this cave. You noticed that I had to open it for you, did you not?”  
“Look, unless you want to be captured by the Rockets, have your memory wiped clean, and become the mindless criminal Ash told me you were when you were first created, then please—!”  
“Begone from here at once,” he said, not waiting for me to finish my sentence.  
He turned around again and began moving toward the center of the cave.  
“My patience wears thin. Do not force me to change my mind about attacking, I will not hold back.”  
I practically saw my team preparing for a battle behind me.  
“Mewtwo, I don’t want to hurt you any more than you already are— “   
“Is that a challenge?” he threatened, turning back toward me. The whole of his eyes began shining blue once more.  
“I don’t want it to be, but it looks like you’re not going to listen to me after all,” I said, my heart beginning to beat faster.  
“Fine,” he said with contempt, “have it your way.”


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Wait!”   
The moment I called out to him, he vanished.   
“I don’t want to hurt you, Mewtwo! Please don’t do this!”  
No response.  
At that point, I could no longer keep my fear under control; I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand as I looked around for any sign him. My Pokémon seemed to panic a little as well as they formed a tight circle around me.   
Then, the cave began to shake violently.  
“Okay, I guess we’re really doing this,” I muttered, clambering onto Gyarados’ back as quickly as I was able.  
“Don’t worry Lilly!”  
I looked toward Ampharos, who was enthusiastically waving her paws at me from the ground.   
“I’ll paralyze him before things get too out of hand,” she shouted cheerfully over the din.  
“Right! Avoid hurting him if possible but protect yourselves at all costs!” I shouted to my team.  
And with that, the battle began.

From the safety of Gyarados’ back, I looked for the best places to hide behind in case it would become necessary later. Arbok slithered around the cavern at top speed, exhaling a gas from her mouth in an attempt to see Mewtwo’s movements. Togekiss flew about the perimeter, keeping a watchful eye from above. Ninetails watched Ampharos’ back, knowing Mewtwo would probably go for her first.  
But to my surprise, he suddenly appeared behind Arbok.  
“Arbok, behind you!”  
She barely had time to burrow underground before Mewtwo sent a wave of psychic energy at her.  
“Togekiss!” I shouted, standing on top of Gyarados’ head.  
I leapt off of her and into the empty air, and Togekiss skillfully caught me on his back a moment later. Having lost sight of Arbok, Mewtwo started to go for Ampharos instead. Ninetails noticed and quickly blocked Mewtwo’s path with flames before fearlessly running up to him with her teeth bared.  
“Ninetails be careful!” I shouted, pulling out an Ultra ball.   
She snapped at him left and right, nimbly dodging his physical attacks.  
“Ampharos, Thunder Wave!”  
Ampharos, who had been following Ninetails, cried out and released a weak electric wave toward Mewtwo.   
He noticed it just in time and redirected it toward Ninetails, who fell to the ground with a shudder.  
“Ninetails, no!”  
Before I could even raise my arm to throw the Ultra Ball, Mewtwo had levitated Ninetails and thrown her against the nearest wall. She cried out in pain and dropped several meters to the ground from where he threw her.  
“Ultra Ball, go!” I shouted.  
It flew toward Mewtwo and enveloped him in a red light, taking him inside and resting on the ground.  
“Togekiss, go to Ninetails,” I said urgently.  
We just barely passed the Ultra ball when it exploded open again, releasing Mewtwo.  
He saw us passing and stopped Togekiss’ motion, sending me hurtling toward the wall that Ninetails had fallen from.  
Just then, Arbok sprang up from under the earth in time to catch me with her hood and gently bring me to the ground. I did not have a moment to see what happened next, but as I stood up Togekiss was knocked flying past me and into the wall next to Ninetails. I looked toward Arbok, who was charging toward Mewtwo at full speed.  
He was readying a ball of psychic energy, but I could also see Gyarados coming up from his left. Seconds before he released it, she let out one of the biggest Hydroblast attacks I had ever seen from a Pokémon.  
I did not have time to shout a warning to Mewtwo before he was hit; I heard him cry out in pain and watched him get thrown into the nearest rock.  
“Gyarados, don’t attack!”  
“He’s knocking us out, Lilly!” she argued.  
I was about to retort, but Mewtwo was on his feet again coughing out the water that had gotten in his mouth.  
Gyarados quickly slithered toward him, dodging psychic attacks as she did so.  
“Togekiss, Ninetails, return!”   
Once they were out of harm’s way, I took out another Ultra ball and whistled for Arbok. Though Mewtwo seemed to no longer have the strength to even levitate off the ground, he was still able to dodge the ice attacks Gyarados was throwing at him.  
“Is that really the best you can do?” Mewtwo’s voice echoed again.   
He raised a hand, sending a beam of electricity toward her.  
Gyarados cried out and fell to the ground.  
“Ultra Ball, go!”  
Arbok and I were close enough where I could throw another Ultra Ball. It hit its mark and fell to the ground, but it began shaking wildly.  
“Ampharos, when this opens up again, I’m going to need you to—”  
I didn’t have to wait long; it released Mewtwo before I could finish my sentence.  
Arbok sent a Sludgebomb flying toward Mewtwo to distract him, then shook me off her back and rushed at full speed toward him.  
“Get Gyaradossss into the Pokéball!” she called back to me.  
Ampharos was hot on her tail, shooting a Signalbeam ahead of Arbok.  
“Gyarados—”  
“Lilly!”   
I turned my head just in enough time to see a rogue psychic attack coming toward me. I dropped to the ground and heard it collide with the cave wall that I was running toward.  
Ignoring my stinging palms, I got back to my feet as quickly as I could and turned to look at my remaining two Pokémon. I was startled to see Arbok trying to sink her fangs into one of Mewtwo’s legs. Ampharos had climbed up onto a rock, and then I understood that Arbok was trying to drive Mewtwo closer to Ampharos so that she could land an attack on him.  
“Ampharos, now!” I shouted when I saw that he was within range.  
That was a mistake; Mewtwo turned around and saw Ampharos. Just as she released a Thunderbolt attack, he teleported a few feet away. The attack hit Arbok instead, who cried out and fell to the ground.  
“Arbok?!”  
She didn’t respond.  
Mewtwo started for Ampharos, who began wildly discharging electric. I ran toward them, drawing out another Ultra Ball.  
“Don’t touch her!” I shouted, hurling the ball toward him.  
It hit its target, drawing him inside once again.  
“Ampharos, are you alright?” I huffed, close enough to see her better.  
“Yeah, I’m—”  
The Pokéball opened before she could finish.  
Mewtwo was breathing heavily and clearly exhausted, but still on his feet. There was an eerily hollow look in his eyes.  
“Signal beam!” I shouted.  
Ampharos attacked, but Mewtwo deflected it with a wave of his hand.  
“Ampharos—”  
Before I could give her another command, she cried out in frustration and began to charge toward Mewtwo with her head lowered. At first, I was confused when Mewtwo made no effort to dodge her incoming Headbutt attack, but as she approached I could see him slowly draw his other hand back.  
“Wait!”   
Mewtwo released a psychic attack, but Ampharos was able to dodge and headbutt him from the other side. He grunted and was knocked back a couple of feet.   
For the first time since the battle had started, I was beginning to feel hopeful.  
“Ampharos, use Thunder Wave!”  
Ampharos cried out and released a weak electrical current, but Mewtwo deflected it once more. When she went to try again, he levitated her before hurling her into the cavern wall.  
“Ampharos!”  
There was no movement for a moment, but then she cried out weakly and lifted her head.  
Mewtwo raised both his hands. Rocks began to tumble from the wall and ceiling above Ampharos.  
“No!” I screamed, running toward her with her Pokéball in my hand, but I could not get there fast enough before they began to hit her.  
“Ampharos, return!” I called, throwing her Pokéball in hopes that it would get to her before I could.  
The red light flashed, and I could see that she had been absorbed into the Pokéball.  
I put my hands on my knees for a moment, breathing heavily. When I had gotten enough air back into my lungs, I stowed her Pokéball back into my bag and turned to look for Mewtwo, but he was nowhere in sight.  
“You’re going to try to kill my Pokémon and hide?! Come back out here and fight, coward!” I screamed, anger overpowering my sense at this point.   
“I’m still here! Come out and face me! You . . . you stupid scaredy-cat! You—”  
Without warning an invisible force pushed me, and I fell back on the cavern floor. Winded, I laid there for a second before sitting up and seeing that Mewtwo had reappeared. He was hovering nearby, though he was less than a foot off the ground. His violet eyes were fatigued, he seemed to be looking through me rather than at me.  
“Are you quite finished?”  
I glared back, full of anger.  
“Your only option is to give up. Stop wasting time here, your Pokémon have suffered enough.”  
He turned away from me and moved back a few feet, his voice lowering as he continued, “Leave this place now.”   
I didn’t move from where I stood, instead I continued to glare at the back of his head. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a stray Ultra Ball near my foot.  
"I must say . . .”  
He alighted on the ground, grunting in pain as he leaned back against a rock, then chuckled to himself quietly, “this was quite simple.”  
“You’re bluffing. You can barely stand on your feet,” I whispered to myself, standing back up with the ball in my fist.   
Mewtwo slowly turned back around and began to limp toward me, raising his hand and forming a small sphere of energy with it.  
“Do you think . . . I will hold back because you are a child?” he asked quietly.  
Before I could even raise my hand to throw the Ultra Ball, he quickly drew his arm back and sent the sphere flying toward me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I wasn't getting much feedback on this site as opposed to other sites, but I'll start posting again here weekly. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This is an excerpt from a much longer work.
> 
> To provide context, I originally started this story to document my character's journey through the Pokémon games, but then it evolved (ha) into something much bigger.
> 
> The protagonist, Lilly, began her Pokémon journey in Hoenn (my first Pokémon game), and has since moved to Kanto to continue growing as a trainer. There she meets Ash Ketchum, who she ends up befriending, which is how this part of the story starts.


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